Reflections
by Lady DuCaine
Summary: Phil finds that despite the similarities between humans and ducks, they are far more different.


Reflections.  
Phil finds that despite the similarities between humans and ducks, they are far more different.

Phil sat across from Klegghorn's desk, the old cop had called him and on rather short notice too. "Boobie, boobalah, what can I do for you captain?"

"I want to profile those ducks of yours, now that the blasted lizards are gone they are a risk factor."

"Come on captain, they're just like you and me, but ducks."

"Doesn't matter Phil, it's for peace of mind."

Phil paused before speaking which meant he was actually thinking things through. "Ok captain, but on one condition."

"What's that?"

"It stays between you and me, it would be bad publicity is anything negative got out about the ducks."

Klegghorn reluctantly nodded. "You got a deal, Phil."  


* * *

Wildwing sat back at the kitchen holding an apple and he stared at it. It always gave him the feeling of guilt, he got his comrades stranded on this planet, and they lived better then they ever could on Puckworld. It didn't seem right, Puckworld was in bad shape and they ended up stranded on a planet of plenty. Humans had so much they could just waste it.

Phil stood in the doorway for a minute, Wildwing's expression at times seemed unreadable, but the mask wasn't on and he could read Wildwing's guilty expression. "What's bothering you, Wildwing?"

"Why do the people of Earth waste the things that they have so much of, and yet on Puckworld . . . we didn't have most of what the humans have in plenty?" Wing said, as he looked at the apple. "This would be treasured by those who had the money to eat something like this. And I can buy as much as I can carry without breaking my bank account."

"I don't get it Wildwing? You Ducks are more advanced then us, so why is food so scarce?"

"It's a planet of ice and snow, very little areas have any growing season, fruit was rare and if you could get it, it was dried."

"So why don't you just ship the fruit fresh from the fields?" asked Phil.

"Because of it's difficulty to grow it was thought better to dry it so it can be stored over time."

"Don't you have greenhouses? That would help with the growing season problem." Phil said.

"Every house had a small one, never produced enough to really survive off of, they were mostly used for medicinal herbs for use in the household."

"But didn't you have doctors?" Phil asked. '_What a weird world they lived on, very stingie on the fruit_?'

"We had doctors, but you didn't go unless you had to. Puckworld, Phil is not like Earth, Ducks are the low end of the races, Suscans control all trade, and the Doves, even Dragaunus wouldn't even dare try to conquer them."

"Who are they? The Suscans and the Doves?" asked Phil. He never really heard about them before.

"Suscans, they are a different race on Puckworld, most Ducks think them as nomad merchants. They're wrong to a good extent. Suscans are nomadic because they control trade, not just over Puckworld, but for the goods they bring to Puckworld from other planets. They're far more advanced then Ducks. Until I had actually worked on one of the ships, the notion of other races had seemed absurd to me. Doves, now that's something else. The general view on Puckworld are that they are blood thirsty, violent warlike race. Meet one with an open mind and ask questions, you learn something totally different. Sure some of their traditions come across as barbaric but it's only at the top social levels. The nobility to keep their numbers to a regulated level wage a type of war amoung siblings so that the strongest and brightest survives. The survivor is trained as a living weapon. The nobilities duty is to protect the people and maintain stability. The middle class depending if they are soldier class or not sometimes practice the same traditions as the nobles. The most strict rules also apply to those two classes. The bottom class, or trade are the backbome of the country's production, they have the most freedom among the Dove, they can do as they please, do as they wish without expectations. You see Doves are born into their class, there is no such things as social climbing. No one wants to be at the top. The head of the Doves in their religious traditions sacrifies their immortal soul so that the people remain untouched by any god." Wing explained to Phil, though he was not sure how much was actually understood.

Phil looked shocked at what he had learned. He never knew anything like that. "So the Doves, their leader is like their president then?"

Wing shook his head. "No, more like a monarch. But a loving one. He or she loves his or her people so much at the hour of their deaths' they give up their immortal soul so their people can be safe. Their eldest daughter or son if they survive the battle of the siblings will become the next Black Dove, till their death. But if there is no children from that Black Dove, the Shadow will become the Black Dove."

"But what if the Shadow doesn't have kids?" Phil asked.

"Then, it goes to the next Shadow." Wing replied.

"So with them, the more power you have, the more so sacrifice. Does it keep power from corrupting?"

Wing nodded. "Absolute power with an absolute price, keeps absolute corruption at bay. There is no poverty amoung them, everyone is educated and can live comfortly. Strangest of the races in the known systems, smallest empire but very well respected, technologically they are at par with the Suscans."

"Sounds like you Ducks got the short end of the stick."

"Yes, but some of us don't mind it." Wing replied, as he started to cut into apple savoring each bite.

"Why's that?"

"Because we don't have to worry about the intergalactic picture, life is simpler that way."

"As a human having you Ducks here is like a confirmation that we aren't alone, yet it's a bit frightening because we don't know what else is out there."

Wing cut another slice. "Phil, when the human race is really ready, there will be contact. What you do from that point on is what will determine the future of the human race."

"Meaning another Alien race will contact us and we would have to hope that they are friendly," Phil looked at him.

"Yes, but they most likely will be Suscans or travellers from the Rim Worlds," Wing replied, as he placed a piece of apple into his mouth and started to eat it.

"But why Suscans?"

"Suscans are usually the ones who most races make first contact with, what better explorer then a merchant?"

"I guess it is better then the Doves," Phil replied.

"The Doves don't travel far from home, Phil. Unless it is to bring someone back from their wanderings or to reclaim something, you won't see them unless you have something that they want back," Wing said. He remembered the event that Canard told him about Lola being taken from their family home by a Dove, he knew that was the only reason for a Dove to go far from home.

"So they probably wouldn't even show up here at all then?" Phil asked.

"To be honest, I'm not sure, but they wouldn't be concerned with any humans." To Wing's surprise, Phil looked very relieved over that. Something was not right with the human and then it dawned on him, Phil never did once ask any type of questions about Puckworld before now. He placed the knife down and the apple. "Okay, Phil, what's the catch?"

"Catch, what catch?" Phil asked, nervously.

"You never asked before, why now?"

Phil sighed. "With Dragaunus's gate being destroyed, you being here seems more permenant and . . . I guess . . . real, and sometimes the way you Ducks look at things that are absolutely normal on Earth puzzles the hell out of me. We're going to be working together on the long term, Wildwing, I may as well at least know where you Ducks are coming from so to keep other humans from taking it the wrong way. Bad PR is never good if you aren't human."

Wing thought about what he said. "That is true, Phil. Next time, you want to know something about us. Just ask us outright, none of these twenty questions things." Wing got up out of the chair, collected the apple core and the knife headed into the kitchen and tossed the core into the compost can and washed the knife before putting it away.

Phil was at the door way. "You are not angry with me asking all this stuff about your homeworld?"

"We ask you about yours? It just seemed you were never interested in ours."

"Well, mine is boring and it wasn't till recently I needed to find out about your homeworld," Phil recited.

"Till recently? Okay, Phil, who asked you to find out about us?" Wing asked, crossing his arms in front of him.

"Klegghorn, though it's more so he can know what to expect, then anything else."

Wildwing nodded. "I think you should talk with the others as well then, there is a lot more they can tell yout then I can."

"Okay," Phil went to the command center and did a call to Duke, he needed to talk with him about something and no it was not a publicity stunt but about Puckworld.

"Okay, Phil, meet me on the roof," Duke said, closing the com link.

Phil turned it off and headed for the roof, knowing that was where Duke liked to hang out at watching the city from there and yet not many people look up at the dome to see Ducks sitting there or people would be freaking out that one of them is about to commit suicide. Phil watched his step as he walked over to where Duke was sitting.

"So what do you want to know about Puckworld, Phil?" asked Duke, once he got to where he was sitting.

"What's it like is it anything like Earth?"

Duke looked out over the city. "Puckworld isn't like Earth, even when a person hits rock bottom there is always a way to get back on your feet. Sure thieves, and assasins control the underworld of Puckworld, but we have rules. The worst injustices Phil on Puckworld are caused conflicts of beliefs."

"You mean religious conflicts?"

"Something like that. My father was a cop, so had been my guardian, he was a religious leader but he tried to end the despute with the other religious group playing by the rules of the law. He had to resigned as a cop when in self defense he killed someone from the other side. That same conflict cost me my eye."

"Wait if your role models were cops why are you a thief?"

"My guardian, my father and my mother were all brutally murdered when I was still in grade school by the other religious group. That group had their fingers in everything Phil, my only real choice was to run and hope that I could find someone who would listen. The person who took me in, protected me and raised me from that point on was Puckworld's master thief, the White Phantom."

"What was this religious group that slew your folks?" Phil asked.

"They are called Ancients. Their weapons were a group of Ancients called The White Guard. You would assume that they would guard and protect the Supreme Ancient when he walks out of the temple but these people were used to hunt down another religious group till none lived." Duke said.

"That's horrible."

"Yeah, the White Phantom never forced me to learn the ways of a thief, he was rather quite upset with me on that one. You see the top thieves don't steal for their own gain, they steal because they need the funds to help those who end up on the street not of their own choice. Assasins aren't much different, they take the contracts given, it's never to become wealthy, it was a means to provide to the next generation. Those raised in assasin or thief safe houses, usually had a bright future ahead of them, only a few ever really went into the trade."

"So why did you? I mean you could have been a cop like your pop."

"Because I wanted to make sure that the Ancients were as dissarmed as possible, doing it within law already took what was most dear, so I did it outside the law. Doesn't mean I don't respect the rules, but here on Earth the lines of good and evil are defined differently."

"Okay, how do you see the lines here?" asked Phil.

"Thieves and Assasin seem no different fron muggers and murderers, on Puckworld there is a distinct difference, one had a code of honor. Also you have more religious groups trying to define good and evil that I think they may have missed the point."

"I think you are right, each religious groups says their God is better then that other group and in my opinion, God is the same in all of the groups just using a different name with each group." Phil replied.

Duke smiled. "Puckworld has one God, it's more of a matter of who influences the morals of the people, the Ancients are strict in their morals, and the other side isn't."

"So who is the other side?" asked Phil.

"Necromancers." Duke replied simply. "Your old cathedrals are much like their temples."

"So they honor the same God that the Ancients do or another God?" asked Phil.

"Same God, I guess you can say, it's complicated."

"Oh," Phil said, looking down at the parking lot.

"Anything else you want to know?" asked Duke, looking at him.

"Is Puckworld really that clean? It sounds like no one is really without anything,"

Duke raised a brow. "Those who have nothing are either do not want to be helped, or are drifters, and drifters still have a place to stay at night."

"You have homeless people?" Phil asked, shocked.

"Yeah, those who don't want to be helped or to get back on their feet. They deserve no pity."

Phil was shocked and surprised by what he heard come from Duke, the one Duck he swore would pity those who didn't want to have help getting back on their feet. "So what about those drifters?"

"They seem to be something else, they are those who prefer not to be part of regular social norms."

"They don't fit in anywhere?" Phil asked.

"Nope, but they do have their uses. They know what's happening around the planet." Duke said.

"So they basically are the traveling source of information then?" asked Phil.

Duke nodded. "If anyone knows Puckworld and the going ons in Puckworld, it would be a drifter."

Phil nodded. "Harsh, but I guess in the long run, it works on your world."

"Yes, could it work here, I don't think so." Duke said.

"Well I've taken up enough of your time, got to admit, learning about your home world explains a lot about you ducks."

Duke smiled. "Well, if you want to talk more about our home world, don't be a stranger, Phil."

"I will, and thanks for the talk, Duke." Phil said, as he left the roof.

"What a strange human." Duke whispered, before resuming his watch on the city.

On his way back downstairs, Phil bumped into Tanya as she working on one of the communications panels. He looked at her carefully, before asking, "Tanya, could I talk to you about Puckworld?"

"Sure, what do you want to know?" Tanya replied, looking up at him.

"Just how it compares to Earth."

"Well I wouldn't compare them Phil, unless it's that Earth is at a point that Puckworld was at a very, very long time ago. I mean Earth has history, but Puckworld, there's a ton and no one really knows the full story. I walked as a difter in my younger days, and was taught by one. Puckworld wasn't always called Puckworld and it wasn't always a frozen world."

"You mean it was named differently then it is now?" asked Phil, shocked by what he heard.

"Yeah, it's proper name was Orithia, and it was once tropical like here."

"Tropical as in hot weather and snowy lands not all snow covered?" asked Phil.

"Yep, but that was a long time ago,"

"But how did it happen?" Phil asked.

"A bomb sent to the core of our planet, to stop the wars that was going on. It made the core go cold very quickly and that stopped all the wars that was going on to where all the Ducks stopped being enemies and started to help each other out." Tanya stated.

"Who set the bomb off?" asked Phil.

Tanya sat on her heels as she looked at him. "I was told it was the last Lady L'Orange but the information might be sketchy."

"Lady L'Orange, you mean an ancestor of Duke?" asked Phil.

"Yes, but of the royal linage, not the thieves line."

Phil blinked. "So Puckworld used to be rules by Kings and Queens?"

"Lords and ladies, but yes we had nobility."

"So did Dragaunus take them out?"

"No, they disappeared after the bomb, no one really knows what became of them."

"They could be hiding like they were, somewhere on Puckworld." Phil suggested.

Tanya thought about it. "That is a strong possiblity that they are hiding till the time comes for them to reemerge from hiding."

"But would your world want them back."

"I think that would depend on how they are."

"As in would they make them revert to being a honor the Lord or Lady of the land type of nobilty?" Phil said.

"Like demanding the people on their lands to pay them taxes and other stuff?" Tanya asked.

"Yes, like that."

"I don't know, they might end up learning that the people are not that way anymore and learn other ways to earn income." Tanya said.

"Would Puckworld benefit?"

"I think in order to unlock some of the planet's mysteries, we have to. There really is no way to compare it Earth's way of things."

Phil nodded as he looked at her. "So compare Earth's rule to that of Puckworld's stand on rulers?"

Tanya sighed. "Earth has lacked a balance between the ruling class and commom classes, Puckworld when we had rulers there was a balance."

"And the people were happy about it too?" Phil inquired.

"Yes, there was not many wars till Drake DuCaine's grandfather saw his grandson Drake with a Surfer Princess and threw a shitfit of sorts and started the war." Tanya said.

"But didn't Drake stop the war?"

"Stop the war? No, he didn't. He went after the Saurians, Surfers and those Bladers who saw what he was doing joined him till he got a huge army behind him and fought them. He had many failures but till one day a Mask showed up on his bill and he was able to see where the Saurians and the Surfers were at. His success rate went up and more people got killed by him and those he captured, he tortured for information on where the base of the Saurians and the Surfers were and many died under his tortures. Basically, in my opinion alone, he was not the hero that the others think of." Tanya said.

"But who stopped the war itself?" asked Phil.

"It was his wife who did it. She stopped the war right after his death of natural causes. To most people, he was killed by her to get the war stopped. She was supposedly a spy for the Surfers and gave information to them via a strange colored drake and his bodyguard." Tanya replied.

"Wow, so there no small countries on your planet, when there is war it's always a world war."

"Culture clashes more like it."

"But those effect on a global level."

Tanya nodded. "Kinda a good reason to freeze a planet, no one can afford to fight with another because the resources are just not there."

"The fight for survival was top of the list, there was no need to fight because of the cold weather, right?" asked Phil.

"Yes, they couldn't fight because everyone was fighting to survive the cold spells till they adapted to the cold weather." Tanya said.

"Man that is one harsh way to get peace."

"But it worked. We had peace for centuries before the Saurians returned and started up the war and devestated the populations." Tanya replied.

"I hope Earth never meets that kind of drastic extremes."

"I hope you never have to deal with that. Look what happened to our world, to this world with all it's populations, it could make the human race nearly extinct." Tanya said.

Phil nodded. "So you learned all of this as a drifter?"

"Yeah, drifters are like human archeologists, but they work on their own outside of the social norm. Each and everyone of them are very intelligent."

"So they learned about the past from bits and pieces of the past that they find?" asked Phil.

Tanya nodded. "Or ancient cities found underground."

"There are cities underground there?" Phil asked.

"Yes and for the most part the cities are still well preserved and livable." Tanya said, finishing up with the communication panel and getting up onto her feet, stretching as she popped her back. "Is that all you wanted to know, Phil?"

"Yeah, explains a good bit about how you Ducks do things."

Tanya smiled as Phil walked away from her. Phil was always a strange human to her. "Oh well," Tanya said to herself, as she headed for Drake One.

Phil went to where the weapons were kept to see Mallory disassembling one of the puck launchers to clean it out. "Hi Mallory."

"Hello Phil." Came her reply, it was short and her tone said it all, don't try to ask me about a stunt.

Phil scratched the back of his head. "I was wondering if . . . I could ask you about . . . Puckworld."

Mallory looked up at him. "Why the interest?"

"I'm . . . uh, just curious about their military practices that's all," Phil said, scratching the back of his head with his right hand.

Mallory paused to think. "Well in recent history there really hasn't been any all out wars, the military handles things too big for local police to handle, or inter province gang wars."

"So the military just handles big things like the invasion from the Saurians?" Phil asked.

"They didn't even have a chance to defeat the Saurians. The Saurians came in so fast that they didn't even have the chance to get into the air with their jets to start to fight them." Mallory replied.

"So was all of Puckworld affected?"

Mallory shook her head. "Dragaunus seemed to have made a peace pact with the Suscans and Doves, seems he didn't want any offworld resources being used against him."

"So he makes pacts with people who are or could prove to be . . . uh . . . a threat to him?" Phil asked.

"He made peace with them because they could wipe the floor with him whenever they so pleased. The Doves and Suscan, Phil, are two very powerful forces, Dove have living weapons and the Suscans command well armed trade fleets."

"The Doves have living weapons? What are they?" asked Phil.

"They, on a regular day to day seem like regular ordinary people. But in a combat situation you don't know what hit you. One moment a sweet kind persaon the next an emotionless killing machine. But it's a part of their way of life, the Doves may have the smallest empire but they are strong enough to be seen on the level with the largest empire."

"So in a way, Dragaunus didn't want to get them involved in his war so he made peace with the head Dove?"

"Yes," Mallory replied, as she placed the gun that she had just finished cleaning on the rack and proceeded to grab another one to disassemble it to clean it out.

"So, it's not just invasion, but he made sure you Ducks had no one to run to."

Mallory nodded. "They couldn't stop him, but it didn't mean they couldn't help quietly. My lover was a Dove Raptrin, Raptrins, Phil are Saurians who evolved to have avian features. My reason for going after Dragaunus Phil is because he played dirty, not because he's Saurian."

"So he played dirty is that why you are after him?" Phil asked.

"Yes, he didn't give us a chance to really give him a battle. He came out of the sky and attacked the military bases without warning and even though most of us got away but we really had no idea he was here or was about to attack," Mallory stated.

"So he didn't do the honorable thing by announcing himself and letting your people get ready for an attack?" Phil asked.

"Correct, even on Puckworld, when we had conflicts it usually would be ended by a honorable duel or fight between the ones who were conflicted. That's how my older brother died. He got into a fight with a fellow officer in the military when I was only a wee duckling and he was mortally wounded by him when it was only to first blood but the duck he was fighting played dirty and didn't want to fight to first blood but to the death as he told the MPs when they arrested him that this was an honor fight and he regained his honor by killing the one who dissed his honor." Mallory said.

"Honor seems to be common for you Ducks, so is Dive here to prove his?" Phil half joked.

Mallory gave Phil a nasty look. "Phil, I'll let you in on something, don't push the kid or back him into a corner, you won't live to regret it."

"Don't you mean you will live to regret it, Mallory?" asked Phil.

"I mean, if you want to die, push your luck with the kid. He may look harmless to you but I have seen him weild a sword in the workout room like it was an extention of his body. He will probably use it if he has it on him when you corner him." Mallory said, as she placed the gun down on the floor, grabbed her cloth, wiped her hands clean before walking out of the room. Phil shrugged and headed off to find Dive.

Phil found Dive in the recreation room with his legs danging over the back of one of two couches flipping through a comic book. "Hi Dive,"

Dive knew the only time he would come to him is when he has a stunt that he wants to pull off and needs a Duck that is willing to do it. He closed his comic book up and looked at him. "What type of stunt is it, Phil?"

"Uh, it's not a stunt, Dive. I just want to know about Puckworld?" Phil asked.

"It's a backwater planet like Earth, not much to it after seeing the other galactic empires. Though maybe Earth is a bit more backwater, at least Puckworldians don't end up as zoo exhibits."

"Well, I am wondering about their pop culture? Any musicians, actors . . . you know, those types of people." Phil asked.

Dive gave him an odd look, "Music varies from folk to what you humans call light rock, fashion varies from region to region, you can usually tell by how a person is dressed where they are from. That also applies to off Puckworld too. Yeah, there are some you could consider stars, but it's not out of porportion like on Earth."

"No photographers chasing them around trying to get pictures of them doing something stupid or plain normal?" asked Phil.

"It doesn't interest people on Puckworld, life is hard enough as it is to be worrying about what someone else is doing or not doing."

"So on Puckworld the stars are not bothered like they would be here?" Phil asked.

"Correct, even Princess Diana wouldn't have been hassled on our planet. Hell, she would have had bodyguards who would protect her." Dive said.

"And let me guess no one bothers any royals on your world."

Dive snickered hard. "Like anyone would be brave enough to hassle a Dove or a Suscan princess, I mean the last people who picked on a Dove princess were executed by her own people."

"And nothing happened to the Doves?"

Dive struggled to get upright and stared in Phil's eyes. "No one wants to charge them with a crime as they were dealing with the one who done them wrong. It's like the Arabians of your world would say . . . an eye for an eye."

"They sound like barbarians!" Phil exclaimed.

"Not really, you humans get up in arms when one nation attacks your leader. It's the same with them. Besides, in the known universe there are a few things you don't mess with, Navigator's guild, Merchants' guild, the shadow guilds, the Tri-Markey empire and the Doves."

"So you basically don't piss any of those people off?" Phil asked.

Dive shook his head. "You would be hunted down by Bounty Hunters or the Tri-Markey's ebon dragons or the Dove's living weapons if you pissed one of them off."

"I could just buy the Bounty Hunters off with some money," Phil said, not knowing that Earth money was a joke to the galactic currencies that is out there in space.

Dive laughed hard. "Oh that is funny, Phil. You try to buy off a Bounty Hunter! That is funny!"

"Why not? They probably would take the money and leave me living," Phil stated.

Dive looked at him and shook his head. "No, they wouldn't even consider taking your money and probably would chop your head off and take it with them to show to the Tri-Markey or the Dove or whoever hired them to kill you and collect the bounty on your head. It is the person who you insulted you should try to appease, not the bounty hunter. To them, you are money if there is a nice size bounty on you."

Phil cringed. "You know a lot about these people, kid."

Dive shrugged. "I've worked under a Suscan princess, was friends with the next Queen of the Tri-Markey empire. Even hung out with an ebon dragon."

"So you are worldly in the galactic realms then?" asked Phil.

"A bit, I haven't studied in the guilds, but you learn a lot when you are friends with some of the movers and shakers in the galactic level." Dive said, as he picked up his comic book and started to read it, when he lowered it down and asked. "Phil, answer me this question. Why are you asking me about Puckworld?"

Phil froze, Dive's tone had caught him completely off guard with it's icy coldness. "Be . . . because Klegghorn wants to know where you Ducks stand."

Dive sat up and looked at him right in the eyes. "You better be telling me the truth about this, Phil, and that is it Klegghorn who will hear the information you gathered from me or the others."

Phil wondered did Dive know he had asked the others about Puckworld? "Uh . . . how do you know that?"

Dive smirked. "My brother was wondering why you suddenly started to ask questions about Puckworld to him, he asked my opinion on the subject, that's how I knew. I'm not the dumb blond that everyone thinks I am."

Phil chuckled nervously as he pulled at his tie. "So what are you doing to do, Dive?"

"Nothing for now." Dive said. "Unless the information mysteriously finds its way to the newspaper, we all will know where it was obtained from . . . you. You will find yourself without a job here if you do tell more then just Captain Klegghorn."

Phil nodded. "No worries Dive, I won't tell anyone beyond Klegghorn."

Dive smiled. "Good."

Phil didn't waste a second before he was rushing out of the room for the hallway with his hand over his neck. He thought of all the Ducks he asked and was about to head for the front when he realized that there was one left – Grin. Hopefully, he will be nicer then the cold tone that Dive gave to him. Now to find the giant Drake, he headed for the workout room to find him lifting weights. "Hi Grin."

Grin placed the weight on the rack and glanced towards him. "No stunts, Phil. I am not interested."

"It's not a stunt. I want to know about Puckworld," Phil asked.

"What do you want to know about Puckworld, Phil, that you don't already know?" Grin asked, as he sat upright, grabbing his towel to wipe down his face.

"Well you Ducks seem to come from different backgrounds, I thought you all might have different bits of information."

"Puckworld is a small planet within the Rim world system, when people are exiled to till the day they die, only Suscans and slave traders visit it. My younger sister Nami is the current ruler of the Rim worlds, I grew up partly on Puckworld because my own parents were exiled there and died when I was young. When my path crossed with my guardian I left Puckworld and studied in one of the guilds." Grin paused for breath. "Phil, no one on this team is average, Tanya though she tries not to be is a drifter at core with Dove blood, Mallory is the Red Orchid, one of the top five galactic bounty hunters, Duke is the mountain Lord who renegotiated the trade agreements with the Suscans bringing a bit more prosperity to Puckworld. Wing is a natural leader, a Flashblade Lord of the flash plains. Nosedive, do not be fooled by his goofy composure, he is a weapon, wether he knows it or not. Unlike Wing, Nosedive is closer to a Dove Flashblade, since he is a skilled assasin."

"I heard the name Guilds before from Dive, what are they?" asked Phil.

"Guilds are the main centers of education, but they are the core to functioning society of any world, the Guilds keep key aspects running and always have resources spread evenly. Navigators are specially trained to have a sense of direction in space. The Merchants Guild keeps the flow of goods steady, the Healers Guild makes sure disease isn't rampent, there are many more, I studied in the Philosopher's guild, we are keepers of knowledge history, and are teachers and guides to those who need us."

"So in a way, you are a teacher?" asked Phil. "And here I was thinking you were a Buddist."

"In the vast infinate if one can not look upon themselves and see their worth, then they are lost and need to be found or truly are worthless."

"Okay, big guy, you just lost me there." Phil said.

"In otherword Phil, in space life is cheap, you find where you belong and get good at it, or become someone else's property."

"Oh," Phil replied.

"Now Phil, please go, you are ruining the karma is the room."

"Sure, uh, thanks for the info, Grin." Phil left the room and headed for topside where he headed for his car and headed for the police station to speak with Klegghorn.

Klegghorn noticed he was standing at the doorway. "Well, what did you find out, Phil?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Klegghorn put down his doughnut and his cup of coffee. "Try me, Phil. What did you find out from those ducks of yours?"

Phil walked into the room after closing the door and locking it. He went to the radio that Klegghorn had on in his office, turned it up to a volume that would drown out any voices within the room and then sat down in the chair. He picked up one of the powered doughnuts and started to tell him what he found out from the Ducks.

Reflections.

Phil sat across from Klegghorn's desk, the old cop had called him and on rather short notice too. "Boobie, boobalah, what can I do for you captain?"

"I want to profile those ducks of yours, now that the blasted lizards are gone they are a risk factor."

"Come on captain, they're just like you and me, but ducks."

"Doesn't matter Phil, it's for peace of mind."

Phil paused before speaking which meant he was actually thinking things through. "Ok captain, but on one condition."

"What's that?"

"It stays between you and me, it would be bad publicity is anything negative got out about the ducks."

Klegghorn reluctantly nodded. "You got a deal, Phil."

* * *

Wildwing sat back at the kitchen holding an apple and he stared at it. It always gave him the feeling of guilt, he got his comrades stranded on this planet, and they lived better then they ever could on Puckworld. It didn't seem right, Puckworld was in bad shape and they ended up stranded on a planet of plenty. Humans had so much they could just waste it.

Phil stood in the doorway for a minute, Wildwing's expression at times seemed unreadable, but the mask wasn't on and he could read Wildwing's guilty expression. "What's bothering you, Wildwing?"

"Why do the people of Earth waste the things that they have so much of, and yet on Puckworld . . . we didn't have most of what the humans have in plenty?" Wing said, as he looked at the apple. "This would be treasured by those who had the money to eat something like this. And I can buy as much as I can carry without breaking my bank account."

"I don't get it Wildwing? You Ducks are more advanced then us, so why is food so scarce?"

"It's a planet of ice and snow, very little areas have any growing season, fruit was rare and if you could get it, it was dried."

"So why don't you just ship the fruit fresh from the fields?" asked Phil.

"Because of it's difficulty to grow it was thought better to dry it so it can be stored over time."

"Don't you have greenhouses? That would help with the growing season problem." Phil said.

"Every house had a small one, never produced enough to really survive off of, they were mostly used for medicinal herbs for use in the household."

"But didn't you have doctors?" Phil asked. '_What a weird world they lived on, very stingie on the fruit_?'

"We had doctors, but you didn't go unless you had to. Puckworld, Phil is not like Earth, Ducks are the low end of the races, Suscans control all trade, and the Doves, even Dragaunus wouldn't even dare try to conquer them."

"Who are they? The Suscans and the Doves?" asked Phil. He never really heard about them before.

"Suscans, they are a different race on Puckworld, most Ducks think them as nomad merchants. They're wrong to a good extent. Suscans are nomadic because they control trade, not just over Puckworld, but for the goods they bring to Puckworld from other planets. They're far more advanced then Ducks. Until I had actually worked on one of the ships, the notion of other races had seemed absurd to me. Doves, now that's something else. The general view on Puckworld are that they are blood thirsty, violent warlike race. Meet one with an open mind and ask questions, you learn something totally different. Sure some of their traditions come across as barbaric but it's only at the top social levels. The nobility to keep their numbers to a regulated level wage a type of war amoung siblings so that the strongest and brightest survives. The survivor is trained as a living weapon. The nobilities duty is to protect the people and maintain stability. The middle class depending if they are soldier class or not sometimes practice the same traditions as the nobles. The most strict rules also apply to those two classes. The bottom class, or trade are the backbome of the country's production, they have the most freedom among the Dove, they can do as they please, do as they wish without expectations. You see Doves are born into their class, there is no such things as social climbing. No one wants to be at the top. The head of the Doves in their religious traditions sacrifies their immortal soul so that the people remain untouched by any god." Wing explained to Phil, though he was not sure how much was actually understood.

Phil looked shocked at what he had learned. He never knew anything like that. "So the Doves, their leader is like their president then?"

Wing shook his head. "No, more like a monarch. But a loving one. He or she loves his or her people so much at the hour of their deaths' they give up their immortal soul so their people can be safe. Their eldest daughter or son if they survive the battle of the siblings will become the next Black Dove, till their death. But if there is no children from that Black Dove, the Shadow will become the Black Dove."

"But what if the Shadow doesn't have kids?" Phil asked.

"Then, it goes to the next Shadow." Wing replied.

"So with them, the more power you have, the more so sacrifice. Does it keep power from corrupting?"

Wing nodded. "Absolute power with an absolute price, keeps absolute corruption at bay. There is no poverty amoung them, everyone is educated and can live comfortly. Strangest of the races in the known systems, smallest empire but very well respected, technologically they are at par with the Suscans."

"Sounds like you Ducks got the short end of the stick."

"Yes, but some of us don't mind it." Wing replied, as he started to cut into apple savoring each bite.

"Why's that?"

"Because we don't have to worry about the intergalactic picture, life is simpler that way."

"As a human having you Ducks here is like a confirmation that we aren't alone, yet it's a bit frightening because we don't know what else is out there."

Wing cut another slice. "Phil, when the human race is really ready, there will be contact. What you do from that point on is what will determine the future of the human race."

"Meaning another Alien race will contact us and we would have to hope that they are friendly," Phil looked at him.

"Yes, but they most likely will be Suscans or travellers from the Rim Worlds," Wing replied, as he placed a piece of apple into his mouth and started to eat it.

"But why Suscans?"

"Suscans are usually the ones who most races make first contact with, what better explorer then a merchant?"

"I guess it is better then the Doves," Phil replied.

"The Doves don't travel far from home, Phil. Unless it is to bring someone back from their wanderings or to reclaim something, you won't see them unless you have something that they want back," Wing said. He remembered the event that Canard told him about Lola being taken from their family home by a Dove, he knew that was the only reason for a Dove to go far from home.

"So they probably wouldn't even show up here at all then?" Phil asked.

"To be honest, I'm not sure, but they wouldn't be concerned with any humans." To Wing's surprise, Phil looked very relieved over that. Something was not right with the human and then it dawned on him, Phil never did once ask any type of questions about Puckworld before now. He placed the knife down and the apple. "Okay, Phil, what's the catch?"

"Catch, what catch?" Phil asked, nervously.

"You never asked before, why now?"

Phil sighed. "With Dragaunus's gate being destroyed, you being here seems more permenant and . . . I guess . . . real, and sometimes the way you Ducks look at things that are absolutely normal on Earth puzzles the hell out of me. We're going to be working together on the long term, Wildwing, I may as well at least know where you Ducks are coming from so to keep other humans from taking it the wrong way. Bad PR is never good if you aren't human."

Wing thought about what he said. "That is true, Phil. Next time, you want to know something about us. Just ask us outright, none of these twenty questions things." Wing got up out of the chair, collected the apple core and the knife headed into the kitchen and tossed the core into the compost can and washed the knife before putting it away.

Phil was at the door way. "You are not angry with me asking all this stuff about your homeworld?"

"We ask you about yours? It just seemed you were never interested in ours."

"Well, mine is boring and it wasn't till recently I needed to find out about your homeworld," Phil recited.

"Till recently? Okay, Phil, who asked you to find out about us?" Wing asked, crossing his arms in front of him.

"Klegghorn, though it's more so he can know what to expect, then anything else."

Wildwing nodded. "I think you should talk with the others as well then, there is a lot more they can tell yout then I can."

"Okay," Phil went to the command center and did a call to Duke, he needed to talk with him about something and no it was not a publicity stunt but about Puckworld.

"Okay, Phil, meet me on the roof," Duke said, closing the com link.

Phil turned it off and headed for the roof, knowing that was where Duke liked to hang out at watching the city from there and yet not many people look up at the dome to see Ducks sitting there or people would be freaking out that one of them is about to commit suicide. Phil watched his step as he walked over to where Duke was sitting.

"So what do you want to know about Puckworld, Phil?" asked Duke, once he got to where he was sitting.

"What's it like is it anything like Earth?"

Duke looked out over the city. "Puckworld isn't like Earth, even when a person hits rock bottom there is always a way to get back on your feet. Sure thieves, and assasins control the underworld of Puckworld, but we have rules. The worst injustices Phil on Puckworld are caused conflicts of beliefs."

"You mean religious conflicts?"

"Something like that. My father was a cop, so had been my guardian, he was a religious leader but he tried to end the despute with the other religious group playing by the rules of the law. He had to resigned as a cop when in self defense he killed someone from the other side. That same conflict cost me my eye."

"Wait if your role models were cops why are you a thief?"

"My guardian, my father and my mother were all brutally murdered when I was still in grade school by the other religious group. That group had their fingers in everything Phil, my only real choice was to run and hope that I could find someone who would listen. The person who took me in, protected me and raised me from that point on was Puckworld's master thief, the White Phantom."

"What was this religious group that slew your folks?" Phil asked.

"They are called Ancients. Their weapons were a group of Ancients called The White Guard. You would assume that they would guard and protect the Supreme Ancient when he walks out of the temple but these people were used to hunt down another religious group till none lived." Duke said.

"That's horrible."

"Yeah, the White Phantom never forced me to learn the ways of a thief, he was rather quite upset with me on that one. You see the top thieves don't steal for their own gain, they steal because they need the funds to help those who end up on the street not of their own choice. Assasins aren't much different, they take the contracts given, it's never to become wealthy, it was a means to provide to the next generation. Those raised in assasin or thief safe houses, usually had a bright future ahead of them, only a few ever really went into the trade."

"So why did you? I mean you could have been a cop like your pop."

"Because I wanted to make sure that the Ancients were as dissarmed as possible, doing it within law already took what was most dear, so I did it outside the law. Doesn't mean I don't respect the rules, but here on Earth the lines of good and evil are defined differently."

"Okay, how do you see the lines here?" asked Phil.

"Thieves and Assasin seem no different fron muggers and murderers, on Puckworld there is a distinct difference, one had a code of honor. Also you have more religious groups trying to define good and evil that I think they may have missed the point."

"I think you are right, each religious groups says their God is better then that other group and in my opinion, God is the same in all of the groups just using a different name with each group." Phil replied.

Duke smiled. "Puckworld has one God, it's more of a matter of who influences the morals of the people, the Ancients are strict in their morals, and the other side isn't."

"So who is the other side?" asked Phil.

"Necromancers." Duke replied simply. "Your old cathedrals are much like their temples."

"So they honor the same God that the Ancients do or another God?" asked Phil.

"Same God, I guess you can say, it's complicated."

"Oh," Phil said, looking down at the parking lot.

"Anything else you want to know?" asked Duke, looking at him.

"Is Puckworld really that clean? It sounds like no one is really without anything,"

Duke raised a brow. "Those who have nothing are either do not want to be helped, or are drifters, and drifters still have a place to stay at night."

"You have homeless people?" Phil asked, shocked.

"Yeah, those who don't want to be helped or to get back on their feet. They deserve no pity."

Phil was shocked and surprised by what he heard come from Duke, the one Duck he swore would pity those who didn't want to have help getting back on their feet. "So what about those drifters?"

"They seem to be something else, they are those who prefer not to be part of regular social norms."

"They don't fit in anywhere?" Phil asked.

"Nope, but they do have their uses. They know what's happening around the planet." Duke said.

"So they basically are the traveling source of information then?" asked Phil.

Duke nodded. "If anyone knows Puckworld and the going ons in Puckworld, it would be a drifter."

Phil nodded. "Harsh, but I guess in the long run, it works on your world."

"Yes, could it work here, I don't think so." Duke said.

"Well I've taken up enough of your time, got to admit, learning about your home world explains a lot about you ducks."

Duke smiled. "Well, if you want to talk more about our home world, don't be a stranger, Phil."

"I will, and thanks for the talk, Duke." Phil said, as he left the roof.

"What a strange human." Duke whispered, before resuming his watch on the city.

On his way back downstairs, Phil bumped into Tanya as she working on one of the communications panels. He looked at her carefully, before asking, "Tanya, could I talk to you about Puckworld?"

"Sure, what do you want to know?" Tanya replied, looking up at him.

"Just how it compares to Earth."

"Well I wouldn't compare them Phil, unless it's that Earth is at a point that Puckworld was at a very, very long time ago. I mean Earth has history, but Puckworld, there's a ton and no one really knows the full story. I walked as a difter in my younger days, and was taught by one. Puckworld wasn't always called Puckworld and it wasn't always a frozen world."

"You mean it was named differently then it is now?" asked Phil, shocked by what he heard.

"Yeah, it's proper name was Orithia, and it was once tropical like here."

"Tropical as in hot weather and snowy lands not all snow covered?" asked Phil.

"Yep, but that was a long time ago,"

"But how did it happen?" Phil asked.

"A bomb sent to the core of our planet, to stop the wars that was going on. It made the core go cold very quickly and that stopped all the wars that was going on to where all the Ducks stopped being enemies and started to help each other out." Tanya stated.

"Who set the bomb off?" asked Phil.

Tanya sat on her heels as she looked at him. "I was told it was the last Lady L'Orange but the information might be sketchy."

"Lady L'Orange, you mean an ancestor of Duke?" asked Phil.

"Yes, but of the royal linage, not the thieves line."

Phil blinked. "So Puckworld used to be rules by Kings and Queens?"

"Lords and ladies, but yes we had nobility."

"So did Dragaunus take them out?"

"No, they disappeared after the bomb, no one really knows what became of them."

"They could be hiding like they were, somewhere on Puckworld." Phil suggested.

Tanya thought about it. "That is a strong possiblity that they are hiding till the time comes for them to reemerge from hiding."

"But would your world want them back."

"I think that would depend on how they are."

"As in would they make them revert to being a honor the Lord or Lady of the land type of nobilty?" Phil said.

"Like demanding the people on their lands to pay them taxes and other stuff?" Tanya asked.

"Yes, like that."

"I don't know, they might end up learning that the people are not that way anymore and learn other ways to earn income." Tanya said.

"Would Puckworld benefit?"

"I think in order to unlock some of the planet's mysteries, we have to. There really is no way to compare it Earth's way of things."

Phil nodded as he looked at her. "So compare Earth's rule to that of Puckworld's stand on rulers?"

Tanya sighed. "Earth has lacked a balance between the ruling class and commom classes, Puckworld when we had rulers there was a balance."

"And the people were happy about it too?" Phil inquired.

"Yes, there was not many wars till Drake DuCaine's grandfather saw his grandson Drake with a Surfer Princess and threw a shitfit of sorts and started the war." Tanya said.

"But didn't Drake stop the war?"

"Stop the war? No, he didn't. He went after the Saurians, Surfers and those Bladers who saw what he was doing joined him till he got a huge army behind him and fought them. He had many failures but till one day a Mask showed up on his bill and he was able to see where the Saurians and the Surfers were at. His success rate went up and more people got killed by him and those he captured, he tortured for information on where the base of the Saurians and the Surfers were and many died under his tortures. Basically, in my opinion alone, he was not the hero that the others think of." Tanya said.

"But who stopped the war itself?" asked Phil.

"It was his wife who did it. She stopped the war right after his death of natural causes. To most people, he was killed by her to get the war stopped. She was supposedly a spy for the Surfers and gave information to them via a strange colored drake and his bodyguard." Tanya replied.

"Wow, so there no small countries on your planet, when there is war it's always a world war."

"Culture clashes more like it."

"But those effect on a global level."

Tanya nodded. "Kinda a good reason to freeze a planet, no one can afford to fight with another because the resources are just not there."

"The fight for survival was top of the list, there was no need to fight because of the cold weather, right?" asked Phil.

"Yes, they couldn't fight because everyone was fighting to survive the cold spells till they adapted to the cold weather." Tanya said.

"Man that is one harsh way to get peace."

"But it worked. We had peace for centuries before the Saurians returned and started up the war and devestated the populations." Tanya replied.

"I hope Earth never meets that kind of drastic extremes."

"I hope you never have to deal with that. Look what happened to our world, to this world with all it's populations, it could make the human race nearly extinct." Tanya said.

Phil nodded. "So you learned all of this as a drifter?"

"Yeah, drifters are like human archeologists, but they work on their own outside of the social norm. Each and everyone of them are very intelligent."

"So they learned about the past from bits and pieces of the past that they find?" asked Phil.

Tanya nodded. "Or ancient cities found underground."

"There are cities underground there?" Phil asked.

"Yes and for the most part the cities are still well preserved and livable." Tanya said, finishing up with the communication panel and getting up onto her feet, stretching as she popped her back. "Is that all you wanted to know, Phil?"

"Yeah, explains a good bit about how you Ducks do things."

Tanya smiled as Phil walked away from her. Phil was always a strange human to her. "Oh well," Tanya said to herself, as she headed for Drake One.

Phil went to where the weapons were kept to see Mallory disassembling one of the puck launchers to clean it out. "Hi Mallory."

"Hello Phil." Came her reply, it was short and her tone said it all, don't try to ask me about a stunt.

Phil scratched the back of his head. "I was wondering if . . . I could ask you about . . . Puckworld."

Mallory looked up at him. "Why the interest?"

"I'm . . . uh, just curious about their military practices that's all," Phil said, scratching the back of his head with his right hand.

Mallory paused to think. "Well in recent history there really hasn't been any all out wars, the military handles things too big for local police to handle, or inter province gang wars."

"So the military just handles big things like the invasion from the Saurians?" Phil asked.

"They didn't even have a chance to defeat the Saurians. The Saurians came in so fast that they didn't even have the chance to get into the air with their jets to start to fight them." Mallory replied.

"So was all of Puckworld affected?"

Mallory shook her head. "Dragaunus seemed to have made a peace pact with the Suscans and Doves, seems he didn't want any offworld resources being used against him."

"So he makes pacts with people who are or could prove to be . . . uh . . . a threat to him?" Phil asked.

"He made peace with them because they could wipe the floor with him whenever they so pleased. The Doves and Suscan, Phil, are two very powerful forces, Dove have living weapons and the Suscans command well armed trade fleets."

"The Doves have living weapons? What are they?" asked Phil.

"They, on a regular day to day seem like regular ordinary people. But in a combat situation you don't know what hit you. One moment a sweet kind persaon the next an emotionless killing machine. But it's a part of their way of life, the Doves may have the smallest empire but they are strong enough to be seen on the level with the largest empire."

"So in a way, Dragaunus didn't want to get them involved in his war so he made peace with the head Dove?"

"Yes," Mallory replied, as she placed the gun that she had just finished cleaning on the rack and proceeded to grab another one to disassemble it to clean it out.

"So, it's not just invasion, but he made sure you Ducks had no one to run to."

Mallory nodded. "They couldn't stop him, but it didn't mean they couldn't help quietly. My lover was a Dove Raptrin, Raptrins, Phil are Saurians who evolved to have avian features. My reason for going after Dragaunus Phil is because he played dirty, not because he's Saurian."

"So he played dirty is that why you are after him?" Phil asked.

"Yes, he didn't give us a chance to really give him a battle. He came out of the sky and attacked the military bases without warning and even though most of us got away but we really had no idea he was here or was about to attack," Mallory stated.

"So he didn't do the honorable thing by announcing himself and letting your people get ready for an attack?" Phil asked.

"Correct, even on Puckworld, when we had conflicts it usually would be ended by a honorable duel or fight between the ones who were conflicted. That's how my older brother died. He got into a fight with a fellow officer in the military when I was only a wee duckling and he was mortally wounded by him when it was only to first blood but the duck he was fighting played dirty and didn't want to fight to first blood but to the death as he told the MPs when they arrested him that this was an honor fight and he regained his honor by killing the one who dissed his honor." Mallory said.

"Honor seems to be common for you Ducks, so is Dive here to prove his?" Phil half joked.

Mallory gave Phil a nasty look. "Phil, I'll let you in on something, don't push the kid or back him into a corner, you won't live to regret it."

"Don't you mean you will live to regret it, Mallory?" asked Phil.

"I mean, if you want to die, push your luck with the kid. He may look harmless to you but I have seen him weild a sword in the workout room like it was an extention of his body. He will probably use it if he has it on him when you corner him." Mallory said, as she placed the gun down on the floor, grabbed her cloth, wiped her hands clean before walking out of the room. Phil shrugged and headed off to find Dive.

Phil found Dive in the recreation room with his legs danging over the back of one of two couches flipping through a comic book. "Hi Dive,"

Dive knew the only time he would come to him is when he has a stunt that he wants to pull off and needs a Duck that is willing to do it. He closed his comic book up and looked at him. "What type of stunt is it, Phil?"

"Uh, it's not a stunt, Dive. I just want to know about Puckworld?" Phil asked.

"It's a backwater planet like Earth, not much to it after seeing the other galactic empires. Though maybe Earth is a bit more backwater, at least Puckworldians don't end up as zoo exhibits."

"Well, I am wondering about their pop culture? Any musicians, actors . . . you know, those types of people." Phil asked.

Dive gave him an odd look, "Music varies from folk to what you humans call light rock, fashion varies from region to region, you can usually tell by how a person is dressed where they are from. That also applies to off Puckworld too. Yeah, there are some you could consider stars, but it's not out of porportion like on Earth."

"No photographers chasing them around trying to get pictures of them doing something stupid or plain normal?" asked Phil.

"It doesn't interest people on Puckworld, life is hard enough as it is to be worrying about what someone else is doing or not doing."

"So on Puckworld the stars are not bothered like they would be here?" Phil asked.

"Correct, even Princess Diana wouldn't have been hassled on our planet. Hell, she would have had bodyguards who would protect her." Dive said.

"And let me guess no one bothers any royals on your world."

Dive snickered hard. "Like anyone would be brave enough to hassle a Dove or a Suscan princess, I mean the last people who picked on a Dove princess were executed by her own people."

"And nothing happened to the Doves?"

Dive struggled to get upright and stared in Phil's eyes. "No one wants to charge them with a crime as they were dealing with the one who done them wrong. It's like the Arabians of your world would say . . . an eye for an eye."

"They sound like barbarians!" Phil exclaimed.

"Not really, you humans get up in arms when one nation attacks your leader. It's the same with them. Besides, in the known universe there are a few things you don't mess with, Navigator's guild, Merchants' guild, the shadow guilds, the Tri-Markey empire and the Doves."

"So you basically don't piss any of those people off?" Phil asked.

Dive shook his head. "You would be hunted down by Bounty Hunters or the Tri-Markey's ebon dragons or the Dove's living weapons if you pissed one of them off."

"I could just buy the Bounty Hunters off with some money," Phil said, not knowing that Earth money was a joke to the galactic currencies that is out there in space.

Dive laughed hard. "Oh that is funny, Phil. You try to buy off a Bounty Hunter! That is funny!"

"Why not? They probably would take the money and leave me living," Phil stated.

Dive looked at him and shook his head. "No, they wouldn't even consider taking your money and probably would chop your head off and take it with them to show to the Tri-Markey or the Dove or whoever hired them to kill you and collect the bounty on your head. It is the person who you insulted you should try to appease, not the bounty hunter. To them, you are money if there is a nice size bounty on you."

Phil cringed. "You know a lot about these people, kid."

Dive shrugged. "I've worked under a Suscan princess, was friends with the next Queen of the Tri-Markey empire. Even hung out with an ebon dragon."

"So you are worldly in the galactic realms then?" asked Phil.

"A bit, I haven't studied in the guilds, but you learn a lot when you are friends with some of the movers and shakers in the galactic level." Dive said, as he picked up his comic book and started to read it, when he lowered it down and asked. "Phil, answer me this question. Why are you asking me about Puckworld?"

Phil froze, Dive's tone had caught him completely off guard with it's icy coldness. "Be . . . because Klegghorn wants to know where you Ducks stand."

Dive sat up and looked at him right in the eyes. "You better be telling me the truth about this, Phil, and that is it Klegghorn who will hear the information you gathered from me or the others."

Phil wondered did Dive know he had asked the others about Puckworld? "Uh . . . how do you know that?"

Dive smirked. "My brother was wondering why you suddenly started to ask questions about Puckworld to him, he asked my opinion on the subject, that's how I knew. I'm not the dumb blond that everyone thinks I am."

Phil chuckled nervously as he pulled at his tie. "So what are you doing to do, Dive?"

"Nothing for now." Dive said. "Unless the information mysteriously finds its way to the newspaper, we all will know where it was obtained from . . . you. You will find yourself without a job here if you do tell more then just Captain Klegghorn."

Phil nodded. "No worries Dive, I won't tell anyone beyond Klegghorn."

Dive smiled. "Good."

Phil didn't waste a second before he was rushing out of the room for the hallway with his hand over his neck. He thought of all the Ducks he asked and was about to head for the front when he realized that there was one left – Grin. Hopefully, he will be nicer then the cold tone that Dive gave to him. Now to find the giant Drake, he headed for the workout room to find him lifting weights. "Hi Grin."

Grin placed the weight on the rack and glanced towards him. "No stunts, Phil. I am not interested."

"It's not a stunt. I want to know about Puckworld," Phil asked.

"What do you want to know about Puckworld, Phil, that you don't already know?" Grin asked, as he sat upright, grabbing his towel to wipe down his face.

"Well you Ducks seem to come from different backgrounds, I thought you all might have different bits of information."

"Puckworld is a small planet within the Rim world system, when people are exiled to till the day they die, only Suscans and slave traders visit it. My younger sister Nami is the current ruler of the Rim worlds, I grew up partly on Puckworld because my own parents were exiled there and died when I was young. When my path crossed with my guardian I left Puckworld and studied in one of the guilds." Grin paused for breath. "Phil, no one on this team is average, Tanya though she tries not to be is a drifter at core with Dove blood, Mallory is the Red Orchid, one of the top five galactic bounty hunters, Duke is the mountain Lord who renegotiated the trade agreements with the Suscans bringing a bit more prosperity to Puckworld. Wing is a natural leader, a Flashblade Lord of the flash plains. Nosedive, do not be fooled by his goofy composure, he is a weapon, wether he knows it or not. Unlike Wing, Nosedive is closer to a Dove Flashblade, since he is a skilled assasin."

"I heard the name Guilds before from Dive, what are they?" asked Phil.

"Guilds are the main centers of education, but they are the core to functioning society of any world, the Guilds keep key aspects running and always have resources spread evenly. Navigators are specially trained to have a sense of direction in space. The Merchants Guild keeps the flow of goods steady, the Healers Guild makes sure disease isn't rampent, there are many more, I studied in the Philosopher's guild, we are keepers of knowledge history, and are teachers and guides to those who need us."

"So in a way, you are a teacher?" asked Phil. "And here I was thinking you were a Buddist."

"In the vast infinate if one can not look upon themselves and see their worth, then they are lost and need to be found or truly are worthless."

"Okay, big guy, you just lost me there." Phil said.

"In otherword Phil, in space life is cheap, you find where you belong and get good at it, or become someone else's property."

"Oh," Phil replied.

"Now Phil, please go, you are ruining the karma is the room."

"Sure, uh, thanks for the info, Grin." Phil left the room and headed for topside where he headed for his car and headed for the police station to speak with Klegghorn.

Klegghorn noticed he was standing at the doorway. "Well, what did you find out, Phil?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Klegghorn put down his doughnut and his cup of coffee. "Try me, Phil. What did you find out from those ducks of yours?"

Phil walked into the room after closing the door and locking it. He went to the radio that Klegghorn had on in his office, turned it up to a volume that would drown out any voices within the room and then sat down in the chair. He picked up one of the powered doughnuts and started to tell him what he found out from the Ducks.


End file.
